Method and apparatus for making a continuous series of fly pieces

ABSTRACT

A CONTINUOUS SERIES OF INDIVIDUAL FLY PIECES CONNECTED BY A SLIDE FASTENER CHAIN IS MADE AUTOMATICALLY WITH A SEWING MACHINE AND GAPPING DEVICE. SENSING MEANS IN THE FORM OF PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS OPERATE IN CONJUNCTION ITH FEED ROLLS TO CONTROL THE FLY PIECES AS WELL AS THE OPERATION OF THE SEWING MACHINE AND GAPPING DEVICE. A LIGHT BEAM SENSES THE PRESENCED OF THE LEADING AND TRAILING ENDS OF THE INDIVIDUAL FLY PIECES SO AS TO EFFECT CORRECT AUTOMATIC CONTROL REGARDLESS OF THE LENGTH OF SUCH FLY PIECES AND WITHOUT REQUIRING ACCURATE PLACEMENT OF THE FLY PIECES BY AN OPERATOR.

March 16, 1971 P. B. JENSEN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING A CONTINUOUS SERIES 0F FLY PIECES 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 18, 1969 ATTORNEY March 16, 1971 P. B. JENSEN 3,570,104

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING A CONTINUOUS v SERIES OF FLY PIECES Filed Sept. 18, 1969 5 Sheets-Sheet I 4 5! {Wig/l *j sa .I NVENTOR z "in Il Phmp Jensen.

ATTORNEY Mrh 15. 1971 P. B. JENSEN 3,570,104

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING A CONTINUOUS SERIES OF FLY PIECES Flled Sept. 18, 1969 C5 Sheets-Sheet :5

INVENTOR Phhp B.Jensen.

-BY ATTORNEY .lullllVllt/vwv W/vV/A.. vvk/W9 United States Patent O 3,570,104 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING A CONTINUOUS SERIES OF FLY PIECES Philip Brehmer Jensen, Naugatuck, Conn., asslgnor to Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn. Filed Sept. 18, 1969, Ser. No. 859,149 Int. Cl. A41h 37/06; B29d 5/00 U.S. Cl. 29-408 10 'Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a method and apparatus useful in the manufacture of closures for ily openings. It deals particularly with the manufacture of a continuous series of individual ily pieces jointed in end-to-end relation by continuous gapped slide fastener chain.

In one method of manufacturing trouser ily pieces connected by zipper chain, as shown in Pat. 2,731,643, a continuous piece of ily material is sewn to a continuous ungapped fastener chain and later, portions of the chain and tape are cut away to provide individual lengths. This method uses a continuous length of new material from a roll and necessarily involves the added expense of that material, whereas it has long been common practice to use short pieces of scrap material for the ily pieces in order to save the cost of new material.

Another method lwhich has been proposed is to sew individual ily pieces in abutting relation to the fastener tape and later, to form gaps at the proper places. An example of this method is disclosed in Pat. 2,697,227. The handling of the individual ily pieces and locating them in the proper position on the fastener chain relative to the next preceding ily piece during the sewing operation is a diilicult matter whether a continuous ungapped chain is employed or a pre-gapped chain is used. It requires accurate placement of the ily pieces manually by the operator.

According to the present invention, the diiliculties above enumerated are eliminated and the entire operation including the sewing and gapping can be carried out at comparatively high speeds with the ilies in the desired spaced or abutting relation. At the same time, the process and apparatus operate so as properly to attach and gap the fastener regardless of the exact length of the individual -ily pieces. The apparatus can also be used without change or adjustment, to make ily closure parts of any desired length.

The method and apparatus by which the above-described advantages are obtained, involves the automatic control of the sewing and gapping operations by means of the leading and trailing ends of the individual ily pieces as they progress. The preferred means of accomplishing this control is by a light sensitive relay, 'which is sometimes referred to as a photoelectric cell. The light beam of such a device may be directed to the ily material at a suitable location, interrupt the sewing when the trailing end of a sewn piece of ily material passes it and start up the sewing machine again when the beam is broken by the leading end of the succeeding ily piece. This means that the individual ily pieces may be fed into the machine without any particular care being required in their placement. The further step in the process involving the gapping at the proper position regardless of the length of the ily pieces is also preferably accomplished by means of a photoelectric cell which activates a relay when a juncture of the two ily pieces passes the light beam. lFor this purpose, if the ily pieces are in abutting relation, a deilecting device may be employed to temporarily open a gap for passage of light.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown for purposes of illustration, one embodiment which the invention may assume in practice. In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view in perspective illustrating my improved method and apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation at the sewing station with portions of the sewing machine omitted;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation similar to FIG. 2 with the presser foot lifted;

FIG. 4 is a detail plan View showing the fastener chain guide and photoelectric cell;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the fastener chain and a series of ily pieces as they pass through the process;

FIG. `6 is a perspective view of a gapping device;

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating the folder and other elements related to the gapping operation;

FIG. 8 is a vertical longitudinal section on line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

fFIG. 9 is a longitudinal vertical section through the gapping tools per se;

FIG. l() is a transverse cross section of a portion of the gapping device;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the work after the sewing step; and

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the finished product.

The end result of the method and apparatus of this invention, as shown in FIG. 12, consists of a series of ily pieces herein designated 13a, 13b and 13C, which are joined together in end-to-end relation by a continuous gapped slide fastener chain having tapes 14 and 15. The chain, as seen in FIG. 11, has continuous rows of fastener elements 16- and in the finished product gaps 17, 18 have been made by removing portions of the rows of elements 16 so as to provide element free extensions at the bottom of each ily piece. As the finished product is illustrated, the ily pieces are in abutting relationship at the severance lines 19 but the invention is equally useful in making a product where there is some space between the ily pieces, and, of course, in the iinal severing operation a portion of the material may be cut away to provide a curvature at the bottom end, if desired. Although the joining of the fastener chain to the series of ily pieces is usually by a double line of stitching through one of the tapes, herein the tape 14, I have indicated only a single line of stitching 20 so as to simplify illustration and description of the sewing machine.

The two basic portions-of the apparatus are a sewing machine S and a gapping device G. The ily pieces, each of which is usually referred to by the numeral 13, are placed on table `21 having a side guide rail 22. This table preferably slopes slightly toward the sewing machine and is vibrated by a suitable mechanism 23 located under the feed table 21. The ily pieces 13 are taken from the table by means of a pair of continuously driven feed rolls 24. The speed of the drive of the feed rolls 24 corresponds closely to the rate of the feed of the sewing machine.

The fastener chain generally designated by the letter C comes from a suitable source located above the table 25 of the sewing machine, downwardly through a strip guide 3 loop 26 and thence under the presser foot plate 27. The presser foot plate has a fastener element guide slot 28 which extends from the loop 26 partially into the upturned end 29. The plate l27 has a hole 30 to accommodate a sewing machine needle 31. It will be observed that each lly piece is somewhat wider than the entire fastener chain and a photoelectric cell 32 is located under that portion of the ily piece which projects beyond the fastener strip opposite the needle 31. A light is arranged to project from a suitable source 33 above the fly piece and, of course, in line with the cell 32. The sewing machine feed dog 34 operates on the underside of the fly pieces.

The presser foot plate 27 is automatically lifted when the sewing machine stops, by means of a solenoid 35 connected to the photoelectric cell 32. When the solenoid is energized, it lifts the presser foot through a suitable linkage indicated at 36, and a lift bar 37. This bar is hinged at 38 to a block 39 secured to the presser foot plate 27. A spring 40 bears against the upturned end 29 of the plate 27 so as to angle the presser foot upwardly, as seen in FIG. 3, when the sewing machine is stopped. It will be understood that the sewing machine is controlled by a suitable solenoid clutch, not shown, so that it is stopped at all times when the light cell 32 is energized, and starts immediately when the beam from light 33 is interrupted.

A pair of feed-out rolls 41 and 42 have a friction grip on the fastener chain and fly pieces and are operated by a suitable drive 43 controlled by an electric motor having connections 44 with the photoelectric cell 32 in such a Way that the feed-out drive operates only when the sewing machine is operating, or, in other words, when the light cell 32 is de-activated.

In operation, the individual fly pieces 13 which have been cut from suitable pieces of scrap material, are placed approximately in end-to-end fashion on the table 21 without any great care being required in their placement. The vibration of the table will cause the ily pieces to ride toward the guide rail 22 and toward the feed-in rolls 24 and when a ily piece is picked up by the rollers 24, it will advance toward the sewing needle. If we assume the sewing machine is stopped, the presser foot 27 will be lifted to allow the leading end of ily piece 13 to pass under the plate 27 and interrupt the beam from light 33. This deactivates the cell 32 causing the sewing machine to start. Due to the inertia of the machine and the time factor involved, the photoelectric cell is located somewhat in advance of the sewing needle, preferably about threequarters of an inch, so that by the time the presser foot has descended and the sewing machine is in operation, the ily piece 13 will have come to the desired location for sewing to the fastener strip. If we assume that a ily piece has already been sewn, the sewing of the next ily piece may be started either when it comes into abutting relation to the sewn piece, or at any desired spaced relation depending on the location of the photoelectric cell, the speed of the machine, etc.

As the work progresses from left to right, as seen in FIG. 5, it will be inverted at some stage between the feed-out rolls 41 and 42 and the gapping device G so that as it approaches the gapping tools, the fastener strip will be on the underside of the lly pieces. This is the stage shown in the mid-portion of FIG. 5. It will be necessary, however, to fold the unattached side of the ily pieces over the sewn side so as to expose the fastener elements 16 to the gapping tools, as seen in the right-hand p0rtion of FIG. 5. This is accomplished by means of a folder plate having a tlat base 45 which extends forwardly, or to the right up to the gapping die 46. The folder includes also a top plate 47 joined to the base plate by a U-bend 48 and having an angular approach edge 49. Secured to this top plate 47 is a fastener element guide rail 50, the entrance end of which is seen in full lines in FIG. 6. This guide rail extends over the entire length of the top plate 47 to the transverse edge 51 of the plate 47. This guide rail bears against the fastener element so as to hold the entire assembly in a denite location as it passes through the folder. An intermediate guide plate 52 is secured to the bottom portion of the machine in a suitable manner and extends about mid-way between the bottom plate 45 and the top plate 47. Actually, this intermediate plate 52 is located between extensions 53, 54 on the bottom and top plates respectively. Such extensions lie alongside the die 46, and the top extension S4 has a longitudinally extending opening 55 whereas the intermediate plate has a narrow transversely extending slot 56. A photoelectric cell 57 is located directly under the intermediate plate 52 at the slot 56. The cell 57 is supported in any convenient manner as by a bracket 58, and is located a suitable distance above the bottom plate extension 53 so as to allow free movement of the attached side of the ily piece and fastener tape as seen in FIG. 8. A light source designated 59 is mounted in an angular fashion, as seen in FIG. l, so as to direct a beam of light through the opening 55 and slot 56 when the latter is uncovered. The gapping tools, including the die 46 and the cut-out punch 60, may be of conventional design and are only sketchily illustrated. It will be understood that the press which operates the punch 60 is designed to turn through one complete revolution quickly and then stop, whenever its clutch solenoid is energized. This instantaneous energization is accomplished by means of the beam of light through the narrow slot 56 as soon as the trailing end of an outgoing lly piece 13 passes over the slot.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the ily pieces are in abutting relation, as seen in FIGS. 11 and 12. With such a condition, the slot 56 would always be covered by the turned-over flap of a ily piece and obstruct a `be'arn of light from the source 59. In order to make a gap and allow passage of light as soon as a trailing end of one fly piece passed over the slot 56, the leading end or corner of the succeeding fly piece is deflected temporarily by a resilient drag finger 61 attached to a head 62 which mounts the punch 60. As seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, this drag finger has deflected a leading corner of an approaching ily piece so as to allow passage of light and activate the one revolution clutch of the gap device. FIG. 7 shows the result at the conclusion of such an operation where a number of fastener elements have been punched out to provide a gap 63 of the desired length in the finished product. The relative positions of the photoelectric cell and the gapping tools is such that the gap 63 will be made just behind the trailing end of the outgoing fly piece so as to be at the bottom of the fastener.

It vw'll thus be seen that as the work passes through the sewing machine S and gapping device G, the operations are initiated and interrupted automatically by sensing means which depends on the presence of the leading or trailing ends of the ily pieces regardless of the length of such pieces. In the illustrations, the ily pieces appear to be quite short, but the apparatus would work just as well with longer lengths, or even with varying lengths in the same continuous series. This is all accomplished without requiring the individual tly pieces to be placed manually in any precise position. The improved apparatus and process, therefore, will produce a continuous series of fly pieces connected by a properly gapped slide fastener just as rapidly and efficiently as if a continuous length of new ily material were supplied. However, as compared to a process and apparatus using such a continuous length 0f ily material, there is a great saving in cost because scrap pieces may be utilized as had always been the custom in hand methods of manufacture.

I claim:

1. In the method of making a continuous series of fly pieces connected in end-to-end relation `by a continuous gapped slide fastener chain wherein individual lly pieces in succession and an ungapped slide fastener chain are fed in superposed relation to a sewing machine, sewn together by stitching running lengthwise of said fly pieces and of said chain and then fed through an intermittentlyx operating gapping device; the improvement which consists of automatically controlling said sewing machine and gapping device by sensing means responsive to the presence of the leading and trailing ends of said individual fly pieces at the sensing means as they approach the sewing machine and gapping device whereby the sewing and gapping operations may be started and stopped at the proper times regardless of the length of each ily piece.

2. A process according to claim 1 comprising sensing the presence of the trailing end of a ily piece at the sensing means to stop the sewing machine and the leading end of the next fly piece at the sensing means to start the sewing machine.

3. A process according to claim 1 comprising sensing the presence of the trailing end of each ily strip as it comes to the gapping device to operate said gapping device which stops automatically after each gapping operation.

4. A process according to claim 1 wherein the feeding of the slide fastener chain with the attached fly piece is also automatically controlled by the position of the leading and trailing ends of the individual fly pieces so as temporarily to stop the feeding during the time `when the sewing machine is stopped, and also to stop the feeding at said gapping device during each operation of such gapping device.

5. Apparatus for making a continuous series of fly pieces connected in end-to-end relation by continuous gapped slide fastener chain which comprises a sewing machine, means for feeding the slide fastener chain to the sewing machine, means for automatically feeding said fly pieces in turn to said sewing machine, said fastener chain `and fly pieces being in superposed relation as they approach the sewing machine, a sensing device located adjacent the sewing station and means responsive to said sensing device for stopping the sewing machine when the trailing end of `a ily strip passes it and for restarting said sewing machine when the leading end of the succeeding ily strip cornes to said sensing means.

6. For use in making a continuous series of ily pieces connected in end-to-end relation by continuous gapped slide fastener chain, a gapping device which is of the type that automatically stops after each complete gapping operation, the improvement which comprises sensing means in the path of the ily piece, and means activated by said sensing means to initiate operation of said gapping device when the trailing end of each fly piece passes by said sensing means.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said sensing means includes a light sensitive cell on one side of the path of the ily piece and a light on the other side of the ily piece, and wherein there is further provided means for temporarily deilecting a corner of the leading end of a succeeding ily piece to permit activation of the light sensitive cell when such trailing end passes the light even though the ily pieces approach the gapping device in abutting relation.

8. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the means for automatically feeding the ily pieces to said sewing machine includes a pair of continuously operating feed rolls.

9. Apparatus according to claim 5 further characterized by a pair of feed-out rolls which grip the slide fastener chain and attached ily pieces adjacent the sewing machine and means also responsive to said sensing device for stopping said feed-out rolls when the sewing machine stops and for starting operation of said feed-out rolls when the sewing machine is restarted.

10. Apparatus according to claim 7 together with means for folding over a portion of each ily piece to expose fastener elements on said slide fastener chain and a resilient finger in the path of said folded over portion for temporarily dellecting the leading end of a succeeding ily piece.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,823,388 2/1958 Prupis et al. 29-207.5X

FOREIGN PATENTS 580,383 7/1959 Canada.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner E. F. DESMOND, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 29-207.5 

